Weeks later than both Israeli and Palestinian leaders said they wanted him, with violence and bitterness now at unprecedented levels, the no-nonsense American envoy Anthony Zinni finally flew into the conflict zone last night. .
He immediately set about trying to broker an improbable intifada ceasefire, meeting Israel's Prime Minister, Mr Ariel Sharon, last night and scheduled talks today with the Palestinian Authority President, Mr Yasser Arafat.
President Bush had remarked on Wednesday, with either masterful or unwitting understatement, that the task facing the retired Marine Corps general was not an easy one.
Yesterday's continuing saga of vicious bloodletting firmly underscored the measure of his challenge.
Near the Netzarim settlement in the Gaza Strip, a roadside bomb detonated by remote control blew up an Israeli Merkava tank, killing three members of its crew.
A coalition of Palestinian militant groups claimed joint responsibility.
In Bethlehem, Fatah gunmen publicly executed two Palestinians alleged to have helped Israel track down and kill key militants, dragged one of the bodies through Manger Square, and were only prevented from hanging it from the roof of the Tourism Ministry when policemen intervened.
Hours earlier, Israeli tanks had rolled into Bethlehem, and shellfire damaged a statue of the Virgin Mary at the Holy Family Church, one building in a complex that includes an orphanage and a hospital.
Outside Tulkarm, missiles fired from an Israeli helicopter killed two Fatah activists who were hiding out at a chicken farm.
The army said one of them was a bombmaker, and that the farm was used as an explosives factory.
And while Israeli forces were starting to pull out of the West Bank city of Ramallah last night, after three days in which they re-occupied and closed down almost the entire city, four Palestinians were killed in gun battles there earlier in the day.
Mr Zinni aborted his last peacemaking mission in December, amid an upsurge of violence that seemed devastating at the time, but has been dwarfed by the current escalation.
His first priority is to convene the various security chiefs for talks, and he has indicated that he will stay in the region until he can implement proposals for a ceasefire and a return to substantive negotiations.
That, of course, is precisely what he aimed to do last time as well. His arrival was plainly timed to coincide with the winding-down of the Israeli incursions into Ramallah and several refugee camps, where Israel says it has arrested dozens of wanted militants and discovered explosives and weapons caches.
As it began its phased withdrawal, the army left behind bulldozed roads, demolished buildings and ransacked homes.
More than 150 Palestinians have been killed in the street fighting this month; more than 60 Israelis have been killed by Palestinian bombers and gunmen in attacks inside Israel and in the territories over the same period.
Mr Sharon has dropped his demand for "seven days of quiet" as a precondition for the resumed peace effort.
He has shrugged off the departure from his government of its most right-wing faction.
By ordering the withdrawal from Ramallah, the Prime Minister addressed Palestinian officials' most immediate grievance.
But even usually moderate Palestinians, like the West Bank security chief, Mr Jibril Rajoub, and his Gaza counterpart, Mr Mohammad Dahlan,, now say that Mr Zinni had better be convening talks on issues other than security.
"There'll be security when the occupation ends," said Mr Rajoub curtly yesterday.
As for the Hamas leadership, Sheikh Ahmad Yassin ruled out any ceasefire notions, declaring that "our people cannot surrender." And the movement's Gaza spokesman, Mr Mohammad a-Zahar, simply derided Mr Zinni as "a Zionist" .
The US State Department last night called for the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian-controlled areas, saying the move "would greatly facilitate" Mr Zinni's mission. - (AFP)
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